Blazers of the Deep
by Pellinore the Great
Summary: This was an idea I had a while ago, it looks at the idea that a lot of the Seven were killed in the fight against Gaea, and what a world after that could look like, with a new Great Prophecy of course. Updates may be few and far between, as there isn't really a plan! Hope people enjoy! (And of course all rights to Rick Riordan)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Percy fell to his knees, holding Annabeth in his arms. He could hear the battle raging around him, but he couldn't focus on that. His dad and Athena were protecting him, swirling around him like a wave. He watched as Annabeth tried to speak but choked on blood filling her mouth.

"Don't speak," Percy said as tears began to fall from his eyes. "Just wait, Apollo will heal you, just…just hold on."

Percy watched as Annabeth shook her head a little, tears coming out of her eyes and dropping into her hair and onto the ground. She began to mouth words to Percy, trying to get her final message across. Percy could only cry as he realised what her last words were.

"I know. I know." Percy sobbed, tears flowing freely.

Annabeth smiled as the life left her eyes and her body went limp. Percy felt and saw the change, and as he sobbed even harder as he held her body to his chest and kissed her forehead. All Percy could do was hold Annabeth's limp frame to his body. Not long after, still crying, Percy felt an arm wrap around him looked to see Athena holding him as tears continued to stream from his eyes. He looked around, seeing that the giants had been defeated in his distraction. Slowly, Athena moved Annabeth's body to the ground, and Percy, still on his knees, felt himself being lifted up and into a hug, recognizing the smell of the ocean that came with his father, Percy hugged Poseidon back.

Being let out of the hug, Percy's tears finally stopped, he looked at Athena, who was gently smoothing Annabeth's hair on the ground, ignoring the blood slowly pooling around her legs from Annabeth's body pouring from the wound in her gut. Before Percy could say anything, Zeus cleared his throat.

"There is a war going on. Mourn your loss later." Zeus said, earning a glare Athena and a number of the gods.

"I'm sorry Athena. I really am. But we need to look to Camp Half-Blood. All our children are fighting." Hermes said, drawing attention to himself, and Athena's glare away from Zeus.

Athena wiped her eyes and nodded. Percy looked at the other members of the Seven, now the Six. Piper and Hazel were crying freely, Jason had an arm around her, Leo was standing awkwardly head down as he cried silently, Frank was hugging Hazel to him. "We should go to Camp too." Leo said tearfully.

Jason nodded, and both Piper and Hazel wiped their eyes as they moved away from Jason and Frank. Percy just stood silently, and looked back at Annabeth's body. "We can't leave her here." Percy croaked, his throat dry.

"I'll send her body to the Olympian throne room, make sure there is a shroud prepared. I can do it fastest." Hermes said.

"Thank you." Percy said to the god.

Hermes nodded and vanished in a flash of light with Annabeth's body. Zeus began issuing instructions to the Six on how to handle the battle upon their arrival. Percy just stood there, vaguely aware of the plan to slap the Argo II to Camp. He could feel the gaze of a few different gods and goddesses on him, his eyes scanned the group of gods and saw Aphrodite staring at him, a look of sadness on her face, Athena standing off to the side on her own, Artemis staring at him with curiosity, and Apollo staring at Percy and the rest of the Six with anguish.

"Percy, we need to go." Piper said, laying a hand on Percy's arm.

"Yeah, ok." Percy said, turning and moving toward the Argo II.

 **O.o.O.o.O**

Percy wasn't entirely sure how he survived the destruction of the Argo II, all he knew was that monsters surrounded him and he was angry. He slashed the throats of _dracaena_ and _empousai_ , decapitated and stabbed Laistrygonian giants and hellhounds, and fought the enemy earthborn as much as he could. It wasn't long before he heard the scream of one of the Six, seeing Hazel running to Frank as a Laistrygonian pulled a spear out from Frank's chest through his back. Percy began to see red, pure fury fuelling him, and he charged through the crowd of monsters and demigods to reach Frank and Hazel.

Reaching the two of them, he began fending off any monsters that came close, but soon wasn't needed as the ground around Hazel started to die and the monsters retreated in fear.

Looking down at Hazel's sobbing body as she cradled Frank's lifeless corpse, Percy felt his hatred for Gaea burn. Then as quickly as his rage sparked, it ignited into absolute fury as he saw Gaea take form at the other side of the armies. He began to fight his way towards her, ducking swords and stabbing monsters, but he was barely half-way when he saw Festus fly through with Piper and Leo on his back, Jason flying alongside, snatching Gaea up and into the sky. Continuing to fight, Percy saw in his peripheral vision Jason flying Piper to the ground, before taking off again to get Leo. As he became a dot in the sky however, Percy heard a missile fire from the onagers, following Jason up, trailing a screaming Octavian in its wake.

Then the explosion was heard. All fighting stopped as the sky looked to gain a second sun. From across the field, Percy saw Piper's hand move to cover her mouth to prevent herself from screaming. Looking back into the sky, Percy saw a dot begin to increase in size as it fell. Moments later a lone figure hit the ground. Rushing over to where the body landed, he found Piper crying into the body of Jason, burned beyond recognition as he lay a hand on Piper's face to wipe the tears away, before his hand dropped to the ground as life left his body.

Percy wasn't sure what to feel. He had lost Annabeth, which made him feel numb from the shock, and pure rage at any and all of Gaea's children. Then he had lost Frank in this battle, which made him feel sorry for Hazel, and only fuelled his anger. And now Jason was gone too, which made Percy simply feel empty. No joy at succeeding in the quest, because to him, the price was too high. Seeing Nico over by Hazel, Percy began to make his way through the crowd again.

Reaching Nico who was holding a sobbing Hazel, Percy asked the question he had to know the answer to. "Is Leo gone too? Are Hazel, Piper and I all that's left of the Seven?"

Nico frowned in confusion as he felt out for Leo's soul. "I can feel that Jason's, Frank's and Annabeth's souls have made it to the underworld, but Leo's is…I don't know where…it's like he's both dead and alive at the same time."

"How is that possible?" Percy asked.

"I'm not sure, I'll have to converse with father about it. And Percy…I'm sorry…about Annabeth." Nico said solemnly.

"Thanks Nico. I'll go take care of Piper. Make sure Hazel is ok." Percy said.

Turning away from Nico to walk back to Piper, Percy found himself facing Travis Stoll, tears in his eyes. "Annabeth? She's…?" He said.

"Yeah. In Athens, against the giants." Percy responded. Travis simply nodded and walked away to inform the other campers from Camp Half-Blood.

By now the crowd of campers, the monsters having retreated, had made a clear path for Percy to walk down, and when he reached Piper he pulled her into an embrace. It wasn't long before Percy found his shirt soaked through, and it wasn't for another quarter of an hour that Piper finally managed to stop her tears. "Leo…is he…?" Piper whispered.

"We don't know yet." Percy said softly.

Piper nodded her head and leaned into Percy's chest, breathing evening out as she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion both physically and emotionally. Lifting her up, bridal style, Percy carried her to the Aphrodite cabin and placed her on the cabin counsellor's bed.

Leaving and making his way to the big house, Percy stepped into the living room where he found Rachel Dare.

"Percy!" Rachel said as she flung herself into Percy's embrace.

"Hey Red." Percy said as he pulled away and sat on the couch.

"What happened? Nobody is telling me anything."

"Um, Jason died in the explosion that killed Gaea, not sure about Leo yet. A Laistrygonian ran through Frank with a spear, not sure what happened to that one either; hopefully it's monster dust. You would've liked Frank. He was kind, shy, and he was able to transform into animals." Percy listed, not entirely sure how to put it all delicately.

"Sounds like he would've been right up my alley, friends-wise." Rachel said, as she began to cry for Jason. It hadn't occurred to Percy really that Jason had been at Camp Half-Blood while Hera had Percy asleep and then at Camp Jupiter. Percy knew, of course, that's how Hera's plan worked, for the two to bridge the camps. But Percy hadn't really understood that Jason had _been_ here. Jason had made friends with the campers, made himself part of their lives for months, whereas Percy had only been at Camp Jupiter a day, maybe a day and a half when he was sent on a quest, then it was straight onto the ancient lands. Percy certainly cared about Camp Jupiter, after all, it was a safe haven for him while he had amnesia, and it was the home of both Frank and Hazel.

"And what about Annabeth? Where's she? I could really use a friend in her right now." Rachel asked, clearly Travis hadn't managed to get to her yet.

"Rachel…she wasn't able to come from Athens." Percy managed to say, choking.

"What? Why?" Rachel said tearfully.

"She was stabbed by a giant. Her blood and mine woke Gaea. Except her wound…it was…" Percy tried to explain, but couldn't finish the sentence before he broke down into tears again. It was a disadvantage of being a son of Poseidon, since you're always hydrated from the water powers, you can always cry.

Rachel, herself breaking down as she grasped Percy's meaning, pulled him into a hug, both of them holding onto each other to prevent them from completely collapsing into their sorrow.

"Where's Chiron?" Percy asked once they had both stopped crying and had steadied their breathing.

"He went to Olympus before the battle, he probably got stuck there." Rachel answered.

"I'm going to have to go before the Council aren't I?"

"Probably. A few of us will."

"Piper, Hazel, Me. Reyna and Nico. Will you come?"

"Yeah, I need to speak to Apollo."

"We should just get it over and done with. Let's go find the others." Percy said, getting off the couch.

Pulling Rachel to her feet, the two of them walk outside, where they find the camp quiet, except for Nico walking up to the big house towards them. "They want to do the funerals for those lost in the battle. On both sides." He said.

"Good. Jason and Frank should be sent off with Annabeth though." Percy said, to which Nico and Rachel both hummed in agreement.

"Hermes is here, so afterwards he can take us all to Olympus." Nico said.

"Perfect. I want to get that audience over and done with."

As the three of them made their way to the beach, Percy realised how many campers were lost on both sides. Percy saw a line of shrouds along the beach, and every remaining camper standing vigil on the foreshore. Walking over to Hermes, Percy whispered to him the plan to take Frank and Jason's bodies to Olympus so that they could be sent off with Annabeth. Hermes nodded and walked briskly to the appropriate bodies and disappeared in a flash of light. Piper and Hazel looked a Percy quizzically before standing on either side of him and taking his hands.

It was over an hour later that all the funerals were complete. One member of the Athena cabin stood with a notepad to the side, writing down the names of each of the campers who died from both camps so that their names could go on the bead for the year. It would be the second bead since the Battle of Manhattan Percy realised. He hadn't received the bead for the first year after because of Hera, which saddened him. But Percy had a feeling that he would be missing a lot of the beads in the future. Once the funerals finished, Reyna, Rachel and Nico all walked up to where Hazel, Percy and Piper stood. They stood in silence, all contemplating the incredible loss of life that had occurred, but it wasn't long before Hermes flashed back. Linking hands, Hermes placed his hand on Rachel's shoulder and flashed them all to Olympus.

 **O.o.O.o.O**

As soon as they arrived in the throne room of Olympus the six of them fell to the ground queasy from their first time flashing. However they all regained their composure when they saw the three altars with shrouds over the bodies laying on them.

Lining up before the Olympian Council, Percy led the six teenagers in a bow before Zeus before they split up and sat at their parents' or patron's throne (guest throne in Hades case). Once they all took their seats, Zeus began his speech, droning on about the courage of the gods in the face of their adversaries, whether they are within or outside Olympus. Percy didn't pay attention; his eyes were fixed on the left altar, a gold and grey shroud with owl eyes woven into the fabric. All he could think of was how fast the day had passed, between the tears, funerals, and battles; virtually no time to rest had come. Well, that and relive the Annabeth's last moments repetitively.

A little while later, after Zeus finished speaking of the gods, he finally turned his attention to the Seven of the prophecy as well as Rachel, Reyna and Nico.

"This last war cost our pantheon much. Let us remember those of the Quest of Seven who are fallen. Annabeth Chase, my granddaughter, and daughter of Athena. The Architect of Olympus, may her designs last for eons to come." Zeus turned into Jupiter, adopting a much sterner face (if that were even possible). "Frank Zhang, my grandson, and son of Mars. Praetor of the Legion, he was a leader, a warrior, and a friend to our heroes. Jason Grace, my son, and a former praetor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata, as well as the Slayer of Krios and the Trojan Sea Monster. May their souls live eternal!"

"May their souls live eternal!" Repeated the Council and the teens as the shrouds burned.

"Hades, I'm sure you will see to it that the three of them make it to Elysium." Jupiter said.

"Of course – oh. It appears the daughter of Athena had been reincarnated twice before; she has made it to the Isles of the Blessed!" Hades said with a small smile to Athena and Percy.

"Thank you, Hades." Athena said, while Percy lowered his head and wiped his eyes.

"Heroes! Piper McLean, Hazel Levesque, Nico Di Angelo, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, and Percy Jackson." Jupiter thundered, and all the demigods stood and lined up in front of Zeus's throne.

"You have fought untold horrors on this quest and saved Olympus, even I cannot deny that fact. Without each of your efforts we would likely not be here." Jupiter continued before mumbling. "Except Percy of course, if you hadn't gotten that nose-bleed, then Gaea wouldn't have risen…"

"Husband!" Hera reprimanded.

"Yes, yes! Each of you shall receive a reward as long as it is within the power of this Council, we swear on the river Styx." Jupiter said as thunder cracked in the distance. "Name your rewards. Step forward Piper McLean."

Piper stepped forward, legs shaking and her eyes glued to the middle altar, the shroud over Jason's body a combination of electric blue and imperial gold, woven in lightning bolts. "Thank you my lord. I want…" Piper paused and she looked around the throne, making eye contact with Percy and Hazel, her mother, before her eyes settled on Nico and Reyna, who were holding hands looking at the shrouds. "I want you to find a way to truly unite the camps. The Athena Parthenos has been returned; the rift should be completely healed. Jason believed it possible, and so do I. If you can find a way to do this, then that is what I ask for."

"Very well. We will find a way to grant your wish." Jupiter said with a smile. Percy suspected that Jupiter liked Piper basing her gift on what she believed Jason would want. Piper returned to her place in line next to Percy. "Hazel Levesque step forward."

Hazel moved forward and stopped next to Frank's altar, his red shroud the colour of blood.

"Thank you my lord." Hazel said. "All I ask is a chance to live my life. I was returned to life, I ask for a chance to live again. Frank wouldn't want me to die in this war as well."

Jupiter looked at Hazel, and sighed before beginning "Unfortunately the rules of the dead are not this council's to dictate. I am King of the Gods, but when my brothers and I divided up the world, I swore to allow the laws of life and death to be Hades to govern and his alone. If he deems you worthy of living again then that is his decision and I cannot undermine that. Given these facts, you still have the offer of a reward from this council."

"Oh…" Hazel said, her voice small. "A less dangerous life then. I ask to be taught to hide my demigod aura."

Jupiter gave a small smile, "Very well, Hazel Levesque. Your wish will be granted. Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, step forward."

Reyna moved forward, dropping Nico's hand, and knelt at Jupiter's throne. "My lord Jupiter. I truly do not know what to ask of this council, perhaps a better augur next time." This earned a chuckle from Jupiter.

"If you do not know what you want, then this council has an offer for you." Jupiter said. "You abandoned your post in the Legion to travel to the ancient lands, then ignored the feud between Greeks and Romans in spite of the Argo II launching an attack on New Rome. Then you sealed the rift between the two natures of the gods. Nico di Angelo step forward also." Nico moved forward and knelt next to Reyna, confusion on his face. "The two of you sealed the rift between the gods natures at great risk to yourselves, add that to your previous achievements in our Pantheon and it becomes clear that you are deserving of the god's greatest gift. So I, Jupiter, offer you Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano the opportunity to become a god." Jupiter quickly shifted to Zeus. "As do I, Zeus, offer the same to you, Nico di Angelo."

Reyna and Nico looked at each other stunned. Before turning back to Zeus and saying together "We accept, my lord."

Zeus and the other members of the Olympian Council stood up and began chanting in a language that definitely wasn't Ancient Greek. Glowing symbols made of energy began floating around the throne room, before all the energy converged into two balls of energy, which flew into the chests of both Reyna and Nico. When they stood their bodies glowed with a faint godly light, and their faces had a slight gold tint from the ichor that now ran through their body in place of blood. "Allow us to greet two new gods. Reyna, Goddess of Unity, minor goddess of strategy and battle. And Nico, God of Unity, minor god of death and funerals." Two guest thrones rose next to Hades, which Reyna and Nico walked over and sat in.

"PERCY JACKSON!" Poseidon shouted, quietening the throne room. Percy stepped forward, bowing to his father and knelt at Zeus's throne.

"Perseus, you have once again earned the chance to attain godhood. However, unlike last time, you shall be offered the chance to have a place on this council. As much as I hate to admit it, without you, the rule of the gods would have ended. I anticipate you will decline this offer, so the choice of a gift is also available." Zeus said.

"Thank you, Lord Zeus." Percy said, lowering his head. "You're right, I am going to decline a place among you. Last time I stood before you all it took Annabeth to show me what I would be giving up by becoming a god. Even without her…I still have my mother, my stepfather, anyone else that makes his or her way into my family. I can't turn my back on them, and I know Annabeth wouldn't want me to. I still have a lot of living to do, so yes, I decline the gift of godhood. But I don't know what to ask for. However, I do ask is that you fulfil the parts of your last promise to me that you didn't before. I understand there are peaceful titans still imprisoned, like Calypso or Leto."

"Very well. Hephaestus, bring Calypso here so that Perseus can see we are going to keep our promise this time." Zeus said.

Hephaestus disappeared in a small spectacle of flames, reappearing a few moments later. "Father, seems Calypso escaped her island on her own, she wasn't there."

Zeus frowned, before putting on a fake smile "No matter. If Calypso is free then she shall remain so as long as she remains peaceful and makes no moves against Olympus." Percy nodded and began to walk back to where Piper and Hazel stood before stopping and turning back to Zeus. "I just decided what I want to ask of the council. And I understand this time it is a large ask. But it is something I have to do." Zeus frowned, while Percy steeled his nerves to ask for his gift. "I ask that you free Iapetus and Damasen from Tartarus."

There wasn't as much outrage as Percy expected. There was a stunned silence during which Percy looked upon each of the gods, Zeus was speechless, Hera was examining Percy as though she wasn't sure he was telling the truth, his father looked confused but didn't seem to be questioning his request. Apollo was nodding slightly but was avoiding Percy's gaze, Aphrodite didn't seem to care for the request, and had one eyebrow raised, Hephaestus looked indifferent to his request as well. Demeter had a smile on her face (Percy remembered that Damasen had been a farmer before descending to Tartarus), Mars looked torn as though he was happy about a sparring partner in Iapetus, but disgusted at the thought of Damasen, Dionysus was reading a magazine, not paying attention, Athena shared the same expression as Percy's father, Hermes looked surprised, but not too caring about the idea, like Aphrodite and Hephaestus. Artemis was examining Percy, sizing him up.

"Very well." Zeus choked out with a tight smile. "So long as Damasen remains peaceful, and as long as Iapetus doesn't pose a threat."

"Thank you, my lord." Percy said before taking his place beside Piper and Hazel.

Zeus gave a closing speech before shifting forms and then Athena, Mars and Jupiter spoke the funeral rites. Percy didn't really hear the words spoken, he thought of what Hephaestus had said about Calypso being gone from her island and had a hunch about how she got away. So as tears began to fall from his, Piper's and Hazel's eyes when the shrouds began to burn, a small smile formed on his face as he reached his conclusion. Leo was alive. He found a way to survive and free Calypso, he kept the promise that Percy had failed to.

Taking Piper's and Hazel's hands in his, they watched the bodies of their friends and loved ones turn to ash before each of their parents stepped forward and muttered words Percy couldn't hear. Slowly each speck of ash glowed with blue light and began to fly up to the ceiling. Percy hadn't paid much attention to the ceiling that Annabeth had designed, but was in awe at its beauty. It was made from black marble with the constellations seemingly a natural part of it. Each piece of light flew into the marble and formed perfect constellations, like photographs made of stars.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A few of the gods vanished upon the conclusion of the funerals. Percy, Piper and Hazel left the throne room and began walking through Olympus in silence. It wasn't long before they went their separate ways though. Each of them wanted to be alone. Percy went to a secluded courtyard that Annabeth had designed into Olympus to be a spot just for the two of them. Inside was a bench under an ash tree which for whatever magical reason produced apples. Not only that, Annabeth made sure that the apples were blue instead of red or green. There was a fountain with designs from each of their adventures together wrapped around half of it like a series of panels in a comic book. The other half was left blank as a way to be excited about their future adventures together. Percy sat against the tree and closed his eyes.

Not long later, Percy heard someone sit on the bench. Opening one eye, he saw his father.

"Blue apples, huh?" Poseidon said.

"Yeah. Mom always makes my food blue, it's a habit Annabeth picked up." Percy said with a wistful smile.

"I knew Sally did that, never knew why though."

"Smelly Gabe said there wasn't blue food. She proved him wrong." Percy said with a cheeky grin. Which cause Poseidon to laugh.

"I always admired her resilience. Each time I looked in on your life from when you were about 7 you had blue food, it drove me mad not knowing."

This time Percy and Poseidon laughed together, eventually falling into hysterics with tears pouring. When they finally stopped laughing, they sat in a comfortable silence. A little while later, Percy asked a question that he'd been desperate to ask for a while. "Does it get any easier?"

"Does what get easier?" Poseidon asked back.

"Losing people."

"The pain lessens, but it's never easy losing someone."

"Does it hurt the same amount each time one of your kids dies?" Percy asked Poseidon, eyes downcast.

"No. It depends on the kid, if I'm being honest. Because our side of the family changes like the tide, some of my children are monsters. Figuratively. I don't mourn those children, but it still hurts. I mourn who they could have been. If I get to spend a lot of time with one of my children then it can be easier to mourn their passing because I got to know them. Or it can be devastating because losing someone you love so much can be truly heartbreaking." Percy sat in silence, listening intently. Poseidon continued, "I still mourn the deaths of some of my children, even though they died centuries and centuries ago. But losing someone like that makes you all the more appreciative of who you still have. I'm not sure if you know, but you have living demigod siblings. I try to be part of their lives as much as I can as well, but it's difficult."

Percy frowned. "You have other living demigods?"

"Yeah, one is a hunter of Artemis, I'm surprised Thalia didn't tell you. Unless Artemis hasn't woken her up yet...Elizabeth was put to sleep after the great prophecy about you was made, in case she broke her oath. I should remind Artemis to wake her up. Your other sister, Catherine, was just 17 when the prophecy was issued, which made her safe from Zeus, as she couldn't be the child of the prophecy. She's 83 now, lives in a small home on an island in the Caribbean that I control. The nature spirits take care of her."

"Wow. I thought I was your only living demigod, I…I can't believe I never asked beforehand." Percy said.

"Well it's an unspoken rule of the gods that when a child reaches old age you minimise talking about them and where they are so that you don't draw monsters to their location. They earn their rest from the difficult lives that they lead."

"I understand. I'd love to meet her." Percy said.

"That sounds incredible. I've told her stories about you. I'm sure she would be thrilled." Poseidon said. "I suspect you will have another couple visitors before the night is done, so I will leave you alone."

"Thanks dad."

"No worries Percy."

 **O.o.O.o.O**

Percy's dad was right, within the hour Athena appeared, sitting gingerly on the bench, as though she wasn't sure she was welcome in the courtyard.

"Hey Athena." Percy opened.

"Hi Percy." She replied.

"How are _you_ doing?"

"Not very well. I've been…deflecting. I went to my cabin, filled in Annabeth's brothers and sisters on what happened."

"That's kind of you. I really wasn't looking forward to doing that."

Silence fell between them, it wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but there was some awkwardness.

"I think I understand it now." Athena stated.

"Understand what?" Percy said with a frown.

"Why she loved you."

Percy's eyes widened, that wasn't what he was expecting to hear. "What do you mean?"

"I had reservations about you. I gave you permission to date Annabeth after the war with the Titans, but I still had doubts, you are a child of Poseidon after all."

"Right…" Percy said, uncertain where she was going with that statement.

"Then you allowed yourself to fall to Tartarus with her. I asked Hera to show me your memories from the pit, both for emotional reasons and educational. Your loyalty to her, unwillingness to let her be alone like that…what I want to say is you've earned my trust. Completely."

Percy was speechless. He hadn't expected such raw honesty from Athena. His dad was always straight with him, but he and Athena hated each other, so for her to be so open with Percy was like 'taking a hit from the master bolt while your back is turned surprising'. "Thank you." Percy managed. Athena nodded and made to leave, but Percy called out "Not to ruin a moment, but I think my Dad is slightly more mature than he used to be, you should consider giving him another chance."

Athena pursed her lips and nodded before walking away. Percy wasn't sure if that meant that she was going to give his dad another chance at friendship or what, but it was a start.

 **O.o.O.o.O**

Not long later, Artemis entered the courtyard. She stood awkwardly, like she wasn't sure she should be there. Percy stood from next to the ash tree and walked over to the railing that looked out over the city. Leaning against it, Artemis came over and stood next to him.

"Thank you for freeing my mother." She said.

"No problem. It was the right thing to do." Percy replied.

"Why did you do it?"

"I just said. It was the right thing to do."

"There had to be another reason."

Percy paused before sighing and beginning to explain. "When I blew up Mount St Helens, I was blasted to Ogygia. Calypso helped me recover, and you know how her curse works."

"Yes?"

"I promised that I would find a way to free her, I thought I had when the gods made their promise after the titan war. Then I found out this last week that Leo went to Ogygia and she was still there. I was angry; the gods hadn't honoured their promise, when not doing so was what led to Luke turning on them in the first place. It was infuriating. I promised Leo that I would do whatever I had to in order to help him keep his promise to set her free. Then he died in the battle earlier today. I decided to make sure that the gods kept their promise. Her not being there though, it makes me suspect that Leo might have survived and found a way back to her."

"No man finds Ogygia twice." Artemis said.

"True, but a _boy_ with an overactive imagination and mind-boggling engineering skills might."

"So you didn't intend to help my mother specifically?"

"No. I'm sorry, hers was the first name the popped into my head when it came to peaceful titans. I'm glad I've helped set her free, but I wasn't thinking of her specifically."

"I appreciate your honesty. And regardless of if it was specific or not, you have my gratitude Percy Jackson." Artemis said before walking away briskly.

Not long after, Percy made his way out of the courtyard and into Olympus proper. It was a later part of the party to celebrate the victory. Zeus was standing off to the side watching the last few people dancing. Percy went over to him and extremely politely asked him to make the top of the empire state building glow blue. Zeus, in spite of looking mildly annoyed at the sight of Percy, which was normal, didn't question it and wave his hand saying it was done. Percy began walking around the remainder of the party, ultimately finding Piper and Hazel having a quiet discussion amongst themselves. When they saw Percy they stood up, Piper walking over and wrapping her arms around his neck. Before letting him go and letting Hazel wrap her arms around his waist.

"We didn't know where you were." Piper said, teary.

"I went to a courtyard Annabeth designed, it was a nice secluded place only a few people know about. I just wanted to be alone for a little while."

"We get that." Hazel said. "We only met up again a little while ago. Spoke to our parents, you know, the usual."

"Yeah, I spoke to my dad, Athena and Artemis."

"Artemis? What did she want with you?" Piper asked.

"To thank me for getting her mother freed."

"Right."

"Well, I was going to wait for you to get here Percy, for me to tell you both this. You might want to take a seat." Hazel said.

Percy and Piper sat down, looking at Hazel expectantly.

"So while I was speaking to my father, we were discussing me living permanently." Hazel began.

"Ok? And what was the decision?" Percy asked.

"He left it up to me, but he gave me options." Hazel said. "Option one, live and be guaranteed Elysium, unfortunately Frank has already undergone rebirth, which can't be undone unless he reaches the Isles. Option two, return to the underworld and go directly to the Isles without undergoing rebirth. On top of that, father tells me that I'm on my first life, which means I won't gain any other person's memories when I arrive. If I return to the underworld, I can keep Annabeth company, and I can use Nico on rare occasions to carry messages to you guys."

"So what are you going to do?" Piper asked, shocked.

"I don't know." Hazel said. "It's a big decision, and not really one I'm ready to make. He's given me until sunset tomorrow to decide. But I'm thinking I will go to the Isles."

"Whatever your decision we'll support you, Hazel." Percy said.

"Then I'll do it. Thanks guys." Hazel said.

Piper and Percy stood up and the three of them hugged for a few minutes, just soaking in their last moments together.

"Looks like it's going to just be you and me now, Percy." Piper said as they pulled out of the hug.

"Actually, I'm not certain about that. Leo was working on a way to get back to Calypso on Ogygia. If she isn't there anymore, it's possible Leo is alive out there with her."

"You really believe that?" Hazel said, eyes huge. Piper looked like she was trying not to break down again.

"Thank the gods. I didn't want to hope…" She began, before Percy cut her off.

"It isn't certain. I'm just saying that it's possible he and Calypso are out there."

"I know…it's just…"

"I know." Percy said with a smile.

Percy turned his head and let out a yelp. Pluto had silently materialised behind Hazel. Piper turned to see why he freaked out and let out a shrill shriek in surprise.

Hazel turned to her father. "I sensed you made your decision." Pluto said.

"Take me to the underworld. Please." Hazel said.

"Of course. I honestly expected you to choose differently, but I won't complain to having you somewhere I can see you regularly." Pluto said with a small smile.

"Before you go Uncle. Can I ask you something?" Percy said.

"Of course." Pluto said as he shifted to Hades. "What is it, Percy?"

"I know you probably can't answer this, but what life am I on? I have pretty awful luck, so knowing me I'll get killed by a monster in the next few years, so I want to know if it's worth waiting for death to reunite with Annabeth on the Isles, or if I have lives to go."

"Percy! Don't talk like that!" Piper exclaimed.

"Please Uncle. I need to know." Percy said.

"Hm. You're on your first life. There also isn't any guarantee that you would get your memories back, that only happens on occasion, I'm not entirely sure why to be honest. I'm sorry Percy." Hades said.

"Don't worry about it, thank you for telling me." Percy said as he watched Hades shift back into Pluto.

"Say your goodbyes, Hazel. I'll know when you're done." Pluto said, drifting away.

"Well…this is it, I suppose." Hazel said, starting to cry again.

"I suppose it is. I'm going to miss you so much Hazel." Percy said, pulling her into a tight hug.

"I'm trying really hard not to cry right now." Hazel said pulling out of the hug and as she moved into Piper's arms.

"Me too. I'm all cried out today. Too many friends gone." Piper said tearfully.

Hazel pulled out of the hug and began to walk away from them. "I love you guys. Remember that." Hazel said before Pluto appeared and touched her, making them both melt into darkness.

"So now what?" Piper asked Percy.

"Haven't a clue. Back to camp? We could go see my mom, she would love to meet you, and I should probably bring her up to speed on everything…" Percy responded.

"Sounds wonderful. I should let you know I've met your mom a couple times, I went with Annabeth while you were at Camp Jupiter."

"Oh. That makes things easier. Shall we then?"

"Lead the way."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Percy knocked on the door to his mom's and Paul's apartment, Piper holding his other hand. After a few moments without an answer, Percy went looking for the spare key Annabeth had hidden in a secret compartment in the wall, based off a design from Daedalus' laptop. Finding it, Percy let Piper and him into the apartment.

"Mom? Paul?" Percy called out, placing the key into a bowl by the door. Walking through the apartment and finding no trace of his mom or stepfather, Percy sat down gingerly on the couch in the living room, Piper joining him shortly after.

"Maybe they're at work?" Piper said.

"Paul maybe, mom works from home, she's writing a novel." Percy answered.

"Redrafting." Piper corrected.

"What?"

"She's redrafting the novel, she finished it a couple months ago."

Percy stared at Piper for a moment, taking in the bizarre fact that a girl he had only known a few weeks knew more about his mother's life at the moment than he did.

They began to pass the time by talking about random things, each avoiding questions that would lead towards having to think about Annabeth or Jason. Finally, Percy's mom walked through the door, letting out a little shriek when she saw Percy and Piper. "Percy!" She exclaimed.

"Hey mom." Percy said simply, causing Piper to try and hold back a laugh behind him. His mom walked forward and engulfed Percy in a hug. After a moment both of them sighed contently and let each other go.

"I saw the blue tower last night, thank you for letting us know you're ok. I must say I'm surprised you aren't with Annabeth. I wouldn't expect her to let you out of her sight for a while." Sally said, before catching the look that washed over Percy's face when she mentioned Annabeth. Taking Percy's face in her hands, and seeing him try to avoid looking at her, a light film of water over his eyes, she asked, "What happened?"

Percy and Piper began to tell the story of the Seven's arrival in Athens to now, each filling in the blanks the other couldn't, whether because they weren't there at the time or because thinking about it caused them to choke up. By the end of their story, Sally was crying softly, before she pulled both Percy and Piper into a hug. Both Percy and Piper wrapped their arms around Sally and soaked in the physical comfort.

Finally, Percy said, "We should get back to Camp, they'll need our help with repairs and so on."

"Yeah…" Piper agreed, letting go of Sally reluctantly.

"Are you going to come home for senior year?" Sally asked Percy.

"Probably, don't see a reason not to. Where I'll go from there I don't know yet though." Percy said.

"Alright, then I'll see you soon. Piper, it was lovely to see you again."

"You too." Piper said.

Piper and Percy left the apartment and set off back to Long Island, travelling in silence, each consumed by their own thoughts of their losses.

 **O.o.O.o.O**

Finally making their way up Half-blood Hill, Piper and Percy turned to each other, trying to find a way to explain to the rest of the camp that they were all that was left of the Seven, with the possibility of Leo's survival.

"Are you ready for this?" Piper asked.

"Let's find out." Percy answered.

They crossed the property line into the valley and watched Camp Half-blood form in front of them. There was significantly less damage to the camp than the two of them expected, but that wasn't too surprising since most of the battle occurred outside the property line, Peleus or the border itself would've prevented most of the damage within.

Rachel was leaving the Big House and spotted them as they walked down the hill. She ran over to them. "Percy! Pipes! There you are! Chiron wants to talk to you both." She said before starting to move away in the direction of her cave.

"Hey Red! Did you get a chance to speak to Apollo?" Percy called after her, to which he received thumbs up back. With a small smile, he and Piper moved towards the Big House.

Entering the building, Percy spotted Chiron in his magical wheelchair playing pinochle with Dionysus in the lounge.

"Ah Percy! Piper!" Chiron said with a sad smile, virtually none of the old twinkle of his eyes there.

"Hello Chiron." Piper said with a tired smile.

"Hey Chiron, Mr D." Percy said.

"Perry. Piper." Mr D acknowledged.

Percy's face twinged with irritation that Mr D had used Piper's actual name and purposely avoided using his. Turning his attention to Chiron and Piper, both were trying not to laugh at Percy's expense, but Piper couldn't hide the smirk of victory on her face.

"Rachel said you wanted to talk to us." Percy said, bringing attention to their reason for being there in the first place.

"Yes, she said that we should expect a visit from Nico soon, that he had information that we would find pertinent." Chiron said.

"Are you going to have the councillors meeting once he arrives then? I don't want to go through everything for a third time." Piper asked, thinking of how tough it was recollecting everything that had happened to Sally.

"If that is what you need. You've both been through terrible losses, so whatever you need."

"I should tell you now that I'm not going to be staying very long. I'm going to be staying with my mom for senior year and then I don't know." Percy said.

"Me too, but with my dad. I might come back next summer before junior year, but without Jason, I don't know." Piper agreed.

Chiron lowered his head, a sad smile on his face, as if he expected as much. "Well I can only hope that it isn't goodbye for good when you do go."

"It won't be." Piper and Percy said simultaneously.

Percy and Piper got up to leave, but as they were walking through the doorway Nico was flashed into the Big House by his father, at which he immediately collapsed and tried not to puke.

"Hmm, perhaps I should've mentioned that this kind of travel takes time for new gods to get used to." Hades mused.

"You think? Man that was fast…" Nico said between deep breaths.

Percy went over and helped Nico to his feet, to which he nodded in thanks. "Reyna is telling Camp Jupiter everything that happened." He said, having recovered extremely quickly.

"Good, I suppose we should call the councillors meeting." Piper said.

 **O.o.O.o.O**

"And so, with great regret, I must inform you of the passing of Annabeth Chase, Daughter of Athena." Chiron finished.

Percy sat silently, having listened to Chiron telling the camp councillors what happened in Greece had been too tough to listen to, so Percy had tuned out the noise. Looking up now that Chiron had finished, Percy braced himself for the final piece that he himself would have to tell.

"That's not all." Percy said as the councillors wiped their eyes at the loss of Annabeth as well as so many, drawing looks from those who had been at camp as long as or longer than Percy. "During the council meeting on Olympus, Hades informed us that while both Jason and Frank made it to Elysium, Annabeth made it to the Isles."

Chiron brightened at this new piece of information; joy filling his eyes as they began to water and the others at the table all grinning from ear to ear. Even Percy, who had largely been emotionless to this point, cracked a small smile.

"I have something I should share." Rachel said from her position next to Chiron, drawing attention to her. "Immediately after Gaia was defeated, I was in my cave like I was _instructed_. But as soon as Gaia was destroyed, I woke up on the ground."

Most of those at the table were fully alert now, knowing what was coming from Rachel next.

"I suspect I gave the next Great Prophecy." Rachel finished.

Chiron sighed, and all the campers paled, while Drew Tanaka (who was there upon Piper's request) looked confused. "So what was the prophecy?" she asked.

"Haven't a clue." Rachel said simply. "I was alone, and I never remember what happens when the Oracle takes control."

"Is that why you went to speak to Apollo?" Percy asked, receiving a nod in response. "Did he tell you the prophecy?" Percy added, to which Rachel shook her head.

"Why not?" Katie Gardner asked, indignant.

"He probably doesn't want to draw Zeus's ire. Zeus blamed him for the entire war because he allowed Rachel to predict the Prophecy of Seven. He is likely just being careful." Piper mused.

"I know my dad pretty well, did he give you a hint of any kind?" Will Solace asked from his side of the table.

"He said a haiku which was totally out of place. So that could just be him being a bad poet, or it could be a clue." Rachel said.

"What was the haiku?" Will asked.

" _On the small table_

 _Magical tools sit waiting_

 _For their master's use._ "

"Something to do with a Magician then?" Travis Stoll said, causing Will to hum in response.

"Maybe we could ask Ella the Harpy for information on a prophecy regarding a Magician?" Clarisse suggested.

"Not overly reliable, but our best bet. Apollo is god of prophecy, he wouldn't give a clue if he didn't know we would figure it out." Chiron said.

"Chiron, is Tyson still at camp? Ella is almost certainly with him." Percy asked.

"No, he left back to your father's palace, he had been away from the forges of the cyclopes too long. For now, while we rebuild the camp, you must go find him and Ella and discover what you can of a prophecy to do with a magician." Chiron answered.

"Ok, is this a quest?" Percy asked.

Chiron frowned, "Ordinarily it would be, however, as no other campers are able to breathe underwater like you, it would seem you will be embarking on this journey alone. You do know the way to your father's palace?"

"Ummm, yes, sort of. Last time I went there I was unconscious for the trip. But I can will the currents to lead me in the right direction. Either way, I can probably find it. All things of the sea are called to the palace of Poseidon." Percy explained.

All the other cabin leaders had wide eyes, none of them had seen the palace of Poseidon, and very few of them had seen the homes of many Olympians away from Olympus itself. Even Chiron hadn't had the fortune of seeing the majesty of the Sea King's home.

"You will need a prophecy from Rachel if this is a quest. Simply ask her and if it is then we will discover what lies ahead. If not, then it should be a relatively easy journey." Chiron directed.

"Ok." Percy said, turning to Rachel. "How do I find Tyson and Ella?"

Rachel went rigid, her eyes glowing green, smoke beginning to leave her mouth when the glow faded and she just became Rachel again, leading everyone to look confused.

Nico meanwhile, stood to the side, as Rachel recovered he got a tingly feeling down his back, and he instinctively knew that the prophecy Percy was going to find would interfere heavily with his domains as a god. It was impossible to describe how he knew, but it was similar to a hunch, or a gut feeling, but certain, like could see it happening with his own eyes, but not able to make out the actual events. Puzzled, he turned his eyes to Percy, who sat there trying to make sense of what just happened.

As everyone sat there thinking about what happened, no one noticed until Clara gasped when she saw Rachel's shoulders tighten and a small amount of smoke leave her nose as the Oracle took over.

" _A most-god lost in Chaos' folds,_

 _The only chance the future holds._

 _The blazer returns from the deep,_

 _Or many souls shall be reaped._

 _Gods combined lead the way,_

 _To the biggest battle, to join the fray._ "

Rachel finished, eyes rolling back into the back of her head. Will Solace quickly took a flask of nectar and added a couple drops to a glass of water, passing it to Katie Gardner, who was sitting next to Rachel and helped her drink it.

"Won't she die from the nectar?" Travis Stoll asked.

"She's been touched by Apollo, god of healing, making it possible for her to have trace amounts, less than a Legacy could. But it will be effective enough to help her recover her strength." Will answered.

Malcolm finished writing down the prophecy, and passed that around the table as well.

"What's a most-god?" Clara, the new head of the Hephaestus cabin, asked, head turned toward Malcolm and Chiron.

"If I had to guess, I would say a person who had more than half their blood being ichor, like us. For example, the child of a god with a half-blood would, mathematically be a three-quarter blood, making them most-god. I don't know what kind of powers they would have though, or if they would simply burn. Any thoughts like that would be conjecture, and that wouldn't help us right now." Malcolm said. "Also, we don't know how often that happens."

"You are quite right about the ratios of blood to ichor in a most-god Malcolm." Chiron explained. "However, often in those cases, the ichor burns out the blood and the child simply becomes a godling."

Those around the table nodded their heads.

"Now that all that is settled, I must ask you all to return to your activities." Chiron said with a tired smile. The campers all moved out of the Big House until it was only Chiron, Percy and Nico remaining.

"I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you this, Percy. But I know that these two prophecies shall be influenced by my domains. How much influence I have on that front I don't know yet." Nico said thoughtfully.

"Good to know. Thanks Nico." Percy said with a determined nod. Nico nodded back and shadow travelled away.

Chiron looked at Percy, a boy, and a young man who had seen and lost too much for his 17 years. "Something else bothering you, Percy?"

"The talk of combining gods." Percy answered.

"Yes that bothers me as well. I suspect it doesn't refer to uniting the Greek and Roman aspects as this gigantomachy has." Chiron said, his suspicion of the true meaning strong, and how dangerous it is for a half-blood to be involved with that collective.

"It doesn't." Percy said with conviction.

"You seem awfully sure."

"I never told anyone except Annabeth, but I met a guy a few weeks after the Titan War came to an end. Before Hera took me. I can't say his name, that would alert him to our location and I'm not entirely certain I trust him. But he used a magic that wasn't ours. We battled a giant crocodile that he called a "Son of Sobek" the _Egyptian_ god of crocodiles."

Chiron paled. He didn't expect Percy to be so aware of the wider ancient world. "When you spoke to this boy, how did you feel?" Chiron inquired carefully.

"Like I was about to mess with dangerous forces that probably shouldn't be meddled with. I'm not really against messing with forces bigger than me, but that felt different." Percy answered.

"The gods have certainly felt a resurgence in the past few years concerning the Egyptian gods."

"You mean they're real too?" Percy said, eyes widening in shock.

"Certainly. Are you really surprised? Our culture is just as influenced by Egypt as Greece. It tends to not end well when our pantheons meet however."

"We should tell the others." Percy said determined.

"No. Not yet. The campers are still coming to terms with the Romans, if we throw the Egyptians into the mix there is no telling what kind of havoc that will cause." Chiron urged.

Percy nodded hesitantly, causing Chiron to let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Percy got up silently and walked away to the door of the Big House. He turned back to Chiron. "Was it just me or did that prophecy Rachel gave seem a bit more like a Great Prophecy than a normal one? It seemed more to do with the future of the gods than a regular quest's prophecy." Percy said, hand on the doorframe, ready to leave.

"It certainly had that feel." Chiron concurred.

"Could Apollo have allowed it to be given again?"

"If he has, then he is risking Zeus's ire in a bold way. However, the only way to know for certain is to find Ella."

"When I do…I think I need some time away from camp. With everything that's happened, and the potential of a new Great Prophecy, I think some time away would do me some good."

"As much as it pains me to say, I agree with you, Percy." Chiron said sadly.

Percy simply nodded and left the Big House, walking towards the Poseidon cabin to pack a small bag for his journey to his father's palace.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Percy stood on the beach of the Long Island Sound next to Piper. She was clearly trying to keep herself together. "You know I'll be back as soon as I can, right? Gods, I could be back later tonight for all we know."

Piper let out a small laugh, wiping a tear from her cheek. "I know that. But seeing you leave as well, being the only member of the Seven at Camp…it's just so awful."

Percy pulled Piper into a hug, and said quietly "I know. I do. And I hate to ask you to bear with it, but I don't know how long I can stay at Camp once I come back. For just that reason." That actually did cause Piper to break into sobs, leading Percy to simply holding her tighter.

After a moment, Percy loosened his grip and kissed Piper's forehead. Then he let her go completely and walked into the surf, no water resistance to slow him down. He didn't look back, his face was wet with tears, and he knew that if he looked back he would do something he regretted.

Continuing his walk into the surf, finally Percy reached a point where he could submerge himself fully, only to find himself face-to-face with two hippocampi. As he allowed the seawater to fill his lungs he heard the hippocampi speak in unison. _Hail, Lord!_ Percy heard in his mind.

"No. Don't do that." Percy said tiredly.

 _Apologies, Lord!_

"No! Stop calling me Lord!"

 _Apologies…prince!_

Percy sighed, and felt the familiar tug in his gut as he bent the water currents to his will. It took a little while to find his father's palace, but when he saw it, in spite of being underwater, his breath was taken away.

Last time Percy had come to his father's palace it had been under a heavy siege, and he had been unconscious. However, seeing the palace in all its glory put the word "Godly" into a new context. The entire palace was built on a massive piece of rock, held above the seafloor by a thin column of coral, so slim that the palace seemed to be floating from such a distance. Only because Percy was able to see so well underwater was he able to see the pillar of coral. When Percy looked down, the ground was covered in coral so multi-coloured Percy felt that he was seeing new colours for the first time, all of which seemed to move like waves towards the palace.

As Percy swam gently towards the palace, he realised the reason the coral appeared to be moving was because the colour actually _was_. As he moved, he saw that it was not simply the coral's colour, but energy that he instinctively knew was purely from the _life_ of the sea. Breathing deeply, Percy felt a sense of serenity come over him, and in that instant all the pain of the past couple days – the trip from Athens, the loss of Annabeth and all his friends, the battles he had fought – left him, and for a second, he was simply at peace. That peace didn't last long, as he remembered why he was at the palace in the first place, and felt all his pain enter his mind again. Forcing back fresh tears, he swam on.

Percy acrobatically swam through the coral walls of the palace as he searched for Tyson. Knowing that his best bet to find him was to find his father, Percy began to make his way to where he felt the strongest presence of the sea. A weird thing to need to do within the ocean, however, here it felt like he was in a completely separate realm, similar to how entering Olympus or the Underworld felt like entering the realms of Zeus and Hades.

 **O.o.O.o.O**

Piper had a bag packed, she had informed Drew that she was going to be taking on the head counsellor role once again, and apologised to a few of her siblings for that change in leadership. As she made her way to the Archery Range, backpack over her shoulder, she thought of Percy. He was going to come back to Camp only to find she had left without saying a proper goodbye. It wasn't that she wanted to hurt him – and she knew that her leaving like this would hurt him – but it was simply that she couldn't bear to say goodbye to him. It had been seriously real on the beach for her. She hadn't meant to get as emotional as she did, but hearing him promise to be back to see her when she knew he wouldn't be fast enough was heartbreaking for her. She had written a letter to Percy and left it in his cabin for him, explaining why she was doing what she was doing, and how she couldn't see him before going. That would have to be enough.

She walked into the Archery Range and saw Chiron on his own, shooting arrows through each other at the longest distance they had for the Range, and occasionally through his arrows that were still flying. Piper thought about how it was said that spending ten thousand hours doing something made you an expert at it, and how many lifetimes Chiron would have spent simply shooting arrows at targets. Her ADHD brain obviously then asked if there was a word for someone of that level of expertise, but she quickly shut that part down.

She didn't say anything; she wasn't sure if she could bring herself to say goodbye like she wanted to. Or if she could convey how she felt to Chiron, so she simply watched him for a couple minutes before turning and walking away from Camp.

 **O.o.O.o.O**

Percy swam through the coral streets of his father's palace, instinctively moving towards the forge of the Cyclopes. Occasionally he would come upon citizens of Atlantis, all of whom bowed their heads respectfully as he passed.

As Percy arrived at the forge, he noticed his half-brother Triton swimming out, deep in conversation with a Cyclops.

"Triton!" Percy called, gaining Triton's attention immediately.

"Perseus. What brings you to Atlantis?" Triton asked contritely.

"I need to find Tyson and Ella; they may hold the key to the next great prophecy." Percy said.

"Well then you've wasted your time. Tyson never returned to Atlantis after his search for _you_. As for an "Ella", I have never heard of her." Triton said before starting to swim away.

"Seriously?" Percy said incredulously. "I know you're sore about my very _existence_ , but this is a matter of colossal importance! And more than that, don't dismiss Tyson's disappearance!"

Triton stopped in his tracks. "Dismiss? Tyson's disappearance has been mine and everyone else in Atlantis's concern since the conclusion of the Giant War. We haven't rested once."

"Oh…" Percy said simply. "Would I get the same concern?"

"From Olympus maybe. But here in Atlantis you are the Third Prince. After myself and Tyson, and given only you not being a god, that makes you significantly less of a concern."

"I'm after Tyson for the throne?"

"Tyson is my full brother, of course he comes before you."

"Tyson's mother is Amphitrite?!" Percy said, eyes wide.

"Hades, speaking with you is infuriating." Triton said with a sigh.

"Fine. I'll just go find Dad and speak with him." Percy said.

Triton simply nodded and swam away, not even saying goodbye. Percy shook his head and closed his eyes. _Dad,_ Percy thought. _I'm outside the forges in Atlantis and really need to talk to you. If you can, please come._

Percy felt a current flow through the water and saw a swarm of bubbles coming closer to the forges. As the bubbles arrived, they circled Percy before beginning to form a human shape in front of him. Once they were in the shape of a man, Poseidon burst forth from within the bubble congregation and placed his hand on his shoulder.

Poseidon looked different from when Percy had seen him in the days previously. His normally black hair had a lot of grey in it, and his face looked more lined. Basically he looked a lot less "surfer dad".

"What is it Percy? I need to get back to the search for Tyson." Poseidon said.

"It's just that, Dad. I want to help in the search." Percy answered.

"That isn't necessary Percy, I have all able sea dwellers searching for him. Besides, you just got out of a war. You should rest."

"Tyson spent months searching for me while I was under Hera's spell. He deserves me returning the favour. Also, the need to find him is much greater than you think." Percy said, exasperated.

"What do you mean?" Poseidon said with a frown.

"He will have Ella the Harpy with him. She's memorised a lot of the Sibylline Texts, and we have a good reason to believe that the next Great Prophecy was given without anyone to record it present, making her the only way to know what lies in store for Olympus."

Poseidon's frown deepened significantly. "We need to alert the Olympian council of this. I will go and call a meeting at once. You return to camp; we will send Hermes to update you all upon the meeting's conclusion. But Percy…"

Percy looked to his father, "I don't want you involved in this. Stay out of this one. I will do whatever I must to keep you safe this time."

Percy was crushed, he froze, only having time to give his father a small nod before his father flashed away, no fancy theatrics, showing the importance of his departure.

Percy felt a tug in his stomach as he willed currents to take him back to Long Island.

 **O.o.O.o.O**

Percy washed up on the shore, weirdly, coughing, like he had been swallowing seawater and needed to cough it up. As he found himself wading into shore, he noticed that there was a lot of resistance for him in the water, which was abnormal. By the time he reached the shore, he was exhausted. Percy couldn't help but wonder whether this was how most people felt after swimming in the ocean.

As Percy walked up the beach, dripping all over the sand, he wondered why he was still wet, before thinking about what his father had said.

 _I will do whatever I must to keep you safe this time._ Poseidon had said. Even Percy could work it out. His father had taken his powers upon his exit from the ocean. He had been spiritually severed from the sea. The more Percy thought about it, the more he knew it to be true. He felt like there was a massive hole in his chest that wasn't to do with his grief over Annabeth and the rest of the Seven, it was more like a phantom limb, a piece of his that was missing.

Percy felt angry. His father may have been a god, but that gave him no right to interfere with Percy to this degree. It was like Hera stealing so many months of time with Annabeth away, but somehow, a million times worse.

Percy walked up Half-Blood Hill, but when he reached the barrier, instead of watching the valley materialise in front of him like it normally would, he got blasted back from the boundary line, hitting essentially a force field. As Percy got thrown back, he bounced down the hill, and knew that Peleus was likely watching him fall with mild curiosity. Percy wondered whether an alarm was ringing that something was trying to cross the boundary line. Percy got back up and walked right to the barrier. He raised a hand and placed it on the boundary gently, but doing so instead of blasting him back, seemed to give him a massive static shock in his hand.

Percy stared at Thalia's tree in shock, and a few minutes passed before Malcolm crossed the barrier, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

"Percy? You killed the monster then?" Malcolm asked.

"Monster?" Percy asked back.

"Something tried to cross the boundary line. We figured it was a monster, or a stray mortal. I was sent to scout, since you were away."

"How long have I been gone? Time is tricky in the deep."

"2 days."

"Did I miss anything interesting?" Percy asked casually.

"Olympus has been closed off while the Olympians are in council."

"They're still in their meeting?"

"Yeah, we know Poseidon called the meeting, so we knew your mission had been a success, we've been waiting for you to get back. Chiron wants to talk to you about something, he was being cryptic so I couldn't work out what."

"Cryptic is Chiron's specialty." Percy said tiredly.

"Don't we all know."

As the two settled into silence, Percy thought about how to tell Malcolm that he was the one unable to cross the boundary line into the Camp. Percy fiddled with his bead necklace while he thought. It was beyond ridiculous, as a half-blood, the camp should automatically welcome him due to his connection to the gods.

That's where Percy stopped. He thought of what Malcolm had said _a monster, or a stray mortal_. With Percy losing his water powers, it was possible that his entire connection to the gods had been severed, which had rendered him essentially mortal, and was keeping him out of Camp.

"Malcolm?" Percy began.

"Yeah?" Malcolm answered.

"Can you go to my cabin and get me a backpack of supplies? I have a few I the cupboard under the fountain. I want to stay here a couple more minutes."

Malcolm frowned. "I don't think your father would want a son of Athena in his cabin."

"He was fine with Annabeth; he'll be fine with you."

"Ok…" Malcolm said, cautiously. Percy knew asking a person from another cabin to get your things from your own was a suspicious act, but right now he had no choice.

Percy sat quietly hoping Malcolm wouldn't go and tell Chiron that Percy was back before he brought Percy his pack. When Malcolm returned, he had a rucksack of Percy's and was holding a letter. Malcolm was frowning, as if he were disturbed by something.

"You're leaving aren't you?" Malcolm asked bluntly.

Percy paused before answering. "Yes. I can't stay. Not after Annabeth."

"I understand; I feel much the same way. But I need to stay for my brothers and sisters."

"They need you."

"I know." Malcolm passed the rucksack to Percy. "With the scorn of Zeus on Apollo, my family will struggle for the next little while, I can make that easier for the little ones."

"What's the letter?" Percy asked as he quickly checked his supplies. A small medical kit with ambrosia and nectar, a couple changes of clothes, a water bottle (initially intended as another means of emergency healing, but that was out now), and a couple small packs of food. Percy placed his hand on his pocket and felt Riptide there.

"It was on your bunk. Piper's handwriting." Malcolm said as he passed it over. "Don't blame her, Percy."

"What do you mean?" Percy asked.

"You'll understand after reading that." Malcolm turned and crossed the barrier into Camp.

Percy's face formed a bemused frown as he opened the letter. As his face scanned the contents he found himself shaking, fresh tears threatening to flow, hands shaking in anger and sadness. He felt his hands scrunch the paper of Piper's letter into his bag as he threw it over his shoulder and began his walk away from camp.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 _3 years later_

 **Artemis POV**

I walked through the streets of Olympus briskly, leaving my hunters in our camp while I attended the weekly council meeting. Our numbers had grown over the past few years. The attack of Orion during the Giant War had caught the hunters off-guard and killed many loyal huntresses who had been with me for centuries. Including Phoebe.

Phoebe was the eldest huntress after Zoe, and had been with me since nearly the Age of the Gods, the very beginning of humanity. Thalia had done what she could to swell the ranks, but they were still few in number, even after 3 years. Now they were only 20 strong, as opposed to the nearly 50 they had been before the Giant resurgence.

The hunters had been spending the past few years searching for the Cyclops Tyson. For a while I had split the hunters into smaller factions to cover more ground, but after the death of two huntresses, I decided it was prudent to keep the hunters as a larger force. The hunters were the last few searching for Tyson, and were told to keep an eye out for Percy Jackson as well, if he were to be found. Both he and Piper McLean had abandoned the search for Tyson in the wake of the Giant War, creating resentment throughout the pantheon for the last two heroes of the Seven.

Piper had emerged from her seclusion two years after the Giant War. She had appeared in Japan, having transferred to a prestigious school there for her final years of high school. From what I gathered, she was attempting to rebuild bridges with those at Camp that were angry with her for leaving, but had mostly earned the trust of both the Romans and the Greeks back. Percy on the other hand seemed to be a much more complicated issue.

Poseidon had admitted how he had severed Percy's connection to the ocean after the War, and how he had apparently unwittingly cut him out of Camp. Most of the Olympians seemed to understand Poseidon's actions to keep his son safe, personally, I didn't get it, but if the majority of the council agreed with his decision, who am I to say otherwise?

Percy's following disappearance caused confusion and chaos on Olympus. Poseidon had reached out to Percy's mother (much to Zeus's ire), but Percy had not kept his apparent promise to his mother to return home for Senior year. The last story anyone heard of him was that he had visited Annabeth's father to inform him of the events of the War, and that his daughter wouldn't be coming home.

I'm quickly cut out of my musing as I reach the throne room of Olympus. I could just flash there, but I quite enjoy the opportunity to think about current events as I make my way to meetings. As I move to my throne, I see that half the Olympians are yet to arrive. Apollo's throne remains empty. Zeus had been so furious about the next great prophecy being cast that he had stripped Apollo of his title as an Olympian indefinitely. Apollo, having been rendered a minor god, left Olympus, returning to Delphi where his presence had been felt strongest. As far as anyone knew, only Rachel the Oracle, Iris and myself knew his exact location, though it was possible that Zeus was keeping an eye on Apollo as well.

I take my throne and sit patiently in silence as the rest of the Olympian council appear. Poseidon appears last, looking much more haggard than he used to. Instead of the close cropped beard and the surfer-dude appearance, he now sported a long black beard and long hair, his muscles much more defined and visible. I would roll my eyes at this, except ever since he had driven Percy away Poseidon had a grave look in his eyes, which were now accented heavily by furious frown lines. Now Poseidon made a point of holding his trident, his symbol of power at all times. His fury was not ideal for anyone to be under.

"Before we begin," Zeus started. "Artemis, any word on the Cyclops or Percy?"

Another new development, everyone now referred to Percy as Percy instead of Perseus except for Dionysius. Early on in the wake of Percy's disappearance, he was called Perseus one too many times and Poseidon had raged so extremely that a quarter of Olympus had been demolished, though in fairness that section of the city was still under construction. I suspect it was the section of the throne room that came crashing down in the quake that led the Olympians to start calling Percy the way he preferred.

"None yet. At this point I think it most likely that Tyson and Ella are reforming in Tartarus. Further, I suspect it would be worthwhile seeking a prophecy from Apollo to issue a quest to bring Percy back." I answered my father.

"Out of the question. Keep searching." Zeus ordered. "Otherwise, it would be worth knowing for everyone that monsters are reforming faster. Not related to the Doors, as it was during the War. Simply on their own. Athena."

"The reformation of a monster occurs in Tartarus, last time, the Giants sped up the process of reformation, and Tartarus himself allowed it to happen. Unless there is a deity in Tartarus that is speeding up the process we have no explanation."

"So is there a plan, Athena? Or do we simply wait and see if it resolves itself?" Poseidon said roughly.

These days, even Athena treaded lightly with Poseidon, where she used to mock and be provoked, she now kept a calm head.

"We could ask Hades to scope it out. However, if there is a deity as powerful as the Giants or even Tartarus down there speeding up the process, we would be in severe peril if we lost control of the Underworld. Thanatos has the same issue; we cannot risk him being captured again. The only god we can risk is Nico, however, he is still too unfamiliar with his abilities, which he would lose down in the pit anyway, and last time he was down there as a demigod he went half-mad."

"Answer the question, Athena." Poseidon ordered.

I could see the annoyance flicker across Athena's face and leave it just as quickly as it appeared. "Well Poseidon, as we have no one who is capable of entering Tartarus and being able to leave again, it would seem we will have to wait."

"Very well. Is that all, Zeus?"

"Yes." Zeus said with a sigh, and without a word Poseidon vanished. "You can all go."

As the gods vanished, I stay silent, and ultimately I find myself alone with my father. "We need Apollo to do this." I say.

"No." Zeus said simply. "I'm sorry Artemis. I know he's your brother…"

"You think I say this because he's my brother? I say this because it's true."

"We wouldn't be in this mess if he hadn't sent the next great prophecy to his oracle. Percy wouldn't have been cut off from Olympus, we may have been able to persuade him to stay and not vanish. We could have had his help finding the Cyclops. If we need anyone in this war, it's Percy. Find him." Zeus said before vanishing without any theatrics.

 **O.o.O.o.O**

 **Percy POV**

I light the cigarette and inhale, feeling my lungs fill with smoke, hold a moment, and exhale. Feeling a tingling through my body, I begin to make my way down the alley I had arrived at. Not bothering to finish the cigarette, I drop it and stomp it out.

I walk confidently down the alley, out of the corner of my eyes seeing shadows moving in the darkness.

I raise my hands above my head and feel my thumb flick over the lighter, setting my hands aflame. I lower them, spread out like wings, and turned in a circle. I had been fortunate enough to learn how to protect my body from flames, and such a display often showed a strength that demons, monsters, and other creatures feared.

"I know you're here. You can come out and speak to me." I say steadily out into the darkness. The flames having lead the shadow creatures to back away, almost melding into the walls of the alley.

I feel my hands extinguish as the magic in the flames wore off, plunging me into darkness again.

"If you know I am here, then you know it was foolish of you to come." A deep, booming voice spoke out, seemingly all around me. I try to force my eyes to look deeper, to look through the darkness into the Veil. But the magic to keep the flames going as long as I had left me drained. I couldn't let that show.

"What I know is that He is coming. Someone with your type of power would be a big prize for Him." I replied.

"I have been hidden from the world for millennia, Perseus Jackson. Who is to say He could ever find me?" The voice laughed.

"Well, I did. And if a mortal can find you, you can be sure He can." I said with a smirk.

The voice was no longer laughing. "What kind of price did you have to pay to find me? That kind of knowledge wouldn't come cheaply."

"The price is yet to be determined. You know I had no choice but to seek you out."

"I cannot help you, Perseus Jackson. To do so would break every Ancient Law I am bound by. Ordinarily I would kill someone who sought me out, however, the price you will pay for doing so in itself should be sufficient to sate me."

"I appreciate you sparing me my life. I will take my leave." I say, slightly bowing. I turn and begin to walk back to way I came.

"Good luck to you, Perseus Jackson." The voice says as I reach the exit of the alley it calls home.

As soon as I step onto the street, I am bathed in sunlight. Instinctively, I raise my hand to shelter my eyes as they adjust to the sudden light. As soon as they're adjusted, I begin to walk down the street.

As I reached the following corner, I felt a presence fall into step with me.

"How did it go?" The female voice said.

"It was a no. Predictable really." I answer.

"Then we try someone else."

"If you remember correctly, Sadie, I told you of how difficult gods are. Not everyone has had the opportunity to share a brain with them."

Sadie Kane blocks my path and looks at me with an incredulous look on her face. "We don't have enough time to find another strategy. Let me drink from the fount. We need to find Magnus, or we won't be able to defeat Him."

I stop. "I know how hard it's been for you since Walt. I know how much Magnus means to you. I know the pressure you're under. We will find a way."

"You should get help from your gods."

"No."

"Percy!"

"They wouldn't help if they could. It's not in their nature."

Sadie looks angry. I don't blame her. I'm being unreasonable. It's my fault we're in this situation in the first place, but she is trusting me anyway. It meant that I probably would be forced to go back to Camp, at least temporarily. Or at least go before the Olympians.

"Go back to the First Nome, Sadie, I have one more lead to look into. If it pans out, I will be in touch." I sigh.

"And if not?" Sadie asks. I can hear it in her voice, she thinks I'm going to leave her again. I admit, that was _not_ one of my prouder moments. But at the time everyone left. Even she did, it's only recently she's crawled out of the woodwork, and that was also my fault.

I don't answer Sadie. I just begin walking again, turning my back to her. _If I look back, I'm lost._ I think to myself, not for the first time.

 **O.o.O.o.O**

 _2 months later_

I walk into the temple cautiously, my magic has seriously been limited since I was rendered mortal, it is only because my blood literally has traits produced by ichor that I'm able to use magic in the first place. Or at least see through the Veil. I remember Annabeth telling me what it was like when she met Sadie all those years ago. How she ate a paste and could look into the Duat, but how being Greek presented it differently to how Sadie described it, and so she made the link between the Duat and the Mist. It was only in the past year or so since I met Magnus, Annabeth's cousin, a demigod in his own right, that I had to start calling it the Veil, since he couldn't be bothered swapping between Mist, Duat and Ginnungagap all the time.

As I make my way through the temple, I begin to feel the godly aura of the air. I almost turn around on instinct, but instead push on. I begin to make my way deep into the temple, and begin to feel stronger. Not what I was expecting. I peek around a corner and freeze.

In front of me, floating a few metres off the ground, is Apollo.

He looks different to the last time I saw him, no longer in his mid-twenties beach-bod. He looks more mature, like a really athletic dad, well-tanned and broad-shouldered. But without a doubt it is him.

I step out, slowly. Apollo is giving off sunlight, so I feel the heat and warmth of outside. I take a step, and see his eyes snap open.

"Percy." Apollo said, so quietly I could barely hear him from the distance between us. It was like a whisper on the air.

"Apollo." I answer, with a nod.

"So many are looking for you. Artemis has been hunting you for years now, I imagine it's frustrating her beyond belief that a male has evaded her."

"I've been careful."

"I can smell that. You reek of so many pantheons, especially Egypt. No wonder no one could find you, you were outside our domain."

"Why are you here in Delphi, Apollo?" I ask, genuinely curious. Not having been in contact with the Greeks for years I wasn't exactly in the loop. The closest I had been to my Greek heritage was running into Gwen, my old Legion superior while I passed through a different area of Greece a year and half previously. I had to wipe her memory of the event so that she wouldn't alert anyone of my status overseas.

"It is a place of great power for me. And with my abilities weakened, I felt it best to come to a place so identified with me."

"You're weakened?"

"Indeed. I have lost the Sight. I can no longer see the future, and as a consequence, I'm sure Rachel can't as well. She has been here a couple times, but even the power of Delphi couldn't allow the Spirit to See."

"How did you lose your power?" I ask.

"My father." Apollo answered simply. "He stripped me of my title as an Olympian and gave my throne to Hestia. It is vital that there be an Olympian god with power over warmth, and not in the way Hephaestus has over fire. Losing my throne nearly caused me to fade, but the dependence of life on the Sun kept my presence strong enough to stay."

"So staying in a place where you were strong before keeps you grounded to this plane. I see." I deduce, earning an approving nod from Apollo.

"Father no doubt did this to teach me a lesson, but I think it was pure arrogance to believe that there would be no consequences to his own actions."

"What kind of consequences?"

"The sun is a vital part of life, Percy. To weaken it is to risk civilisation. I may hide it, but I am certainly one of the most powerful gods in our pantheon."

"Alongside the Big Three?"

"No. Zeus may consider himself the mightiest of us, but there is a good reason that all fear your father and Hades. To be an enemy of the sea is a dangerous thing, and to cross one who may not be powerful on his own, but commands an army that recruits the more they kill…my Father commands lightning, a powerful weapon, but the sky is nothing without the light of the sun and the moon. Together, my sister and I could easily destroy our Father. But on my own, I could fight your father to a standstill, scorching the sea."

I take in what he is saying, it was a viewpoint I hadn't considered before. Naturally, the Olympians were strong because of their domains being routed in the dependence of Western Civilisation in them, but Apollo did make a good point about how his use of sunlight pretty much dominated Zeus. Even the fact that the sky's major domains had been split, while that of the Ocean and the Underworld hadn't, suggested their fundamental weakness.

"What of you, Percy? Where have you been? I can smell Egypt, but I sense you have tapped into your godly side, past the block your father put in place."

"We both know you already know where I've been. And the only reason I've been able to use magic is because of the ichor in me. I do admit being in your presence has strengthened my connection to that side of me though."

"Not surprising, your blood is likely responding to my natural godly aura."

"I don't normally react to the aura of other gods though." I say, trying to work out why.

"I should expect not. You would only react to the aura of a Greco-Roman god, as that's the type of ichor you carry." Apollo continues. "Think of it like having a different blood type."

It all starts to come together. I had come to the temple for a prophecy, as it was the only way for those within the House of Life to fight the Enemy. But with Apollo having lost the ability to predict the future, I suspect the best way for me to do so would be to earn him his seat on the Olympian council. Doing so would hopefully restore his ability to see the future.

"Are you strong enough to send me to Olympus?" I ask, after a moment of thought.

"No. Right now, you're a mortal, the energy of Olympus would destroy you, regardless of ichor in your body. I can however, send you to Camp." Apollo replied.

I sigh, knowing that it's the only way. Nodding to Apollo to do it. I close my eyes and feel a gust of immense wind on my face, and a queasiness in my gut. I open my eyes and am sitting on my bed in my cabin back at Camp, across from a very startled looking girl with hair that was black like mine, and eyes just as green. "Who are you?" I ask, almost immediately.

"I'm Elizabeth." She answered.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Percy examined the girl, Elizabeth. The resemblance was striking. She looked to be around 16 and she wore a blue and green wave-patterned t-shirt under a silver jacket. Her skin seemed to have a luminescent glow in the darkness. A bow was sitting on her bed next to her. She studied Percy just as intently as he studied her.

"Dad told me I had a sister." Percy finally said.

"He told me I had a brother. Then I found out he was a coward." She replied, harshly.

"I didn't have a choice." Percy stated, his words gaining a bit of venom. "Either way, I need to speak to our father. Can you call him?"

"Why should I?"

"Because if you don't, then you're the one who's going to be punished for not doing so immediately."

Elizabeth scowled and moved to the water fountain. She picked up a drachma and the mist from the fountain seemed to grow thicker. While she did this, Percy examined the cabin.

It was largely unchanged from when he was last here, three years previously. His minotaur horn still adorned the wall, along with the damaged shield Tyson had made for him. On the wall by his bunk, there were still pictures of him and Annabeth, him and Thalia, and him and Tyson, and of course, him and Grover at various places and moments.

Percy picked a photo of him, Annabeth, and Thalia at a Green Day concert in the city off the wall and examined it. It had been taken after the battle of the Labyrinth. They (Annabeth) managed to persuade Artemis to let them take Thalia for her birthday that year. It felt like a lifetime ago, being 15, before the final battle with Kronos, before Percy actually knew what it was like to fight in a war.

Percy was brought out of his reminiscing by the sudden flash of Poseidon appearing in the cabin. He had been so distracted, he had missed Elizabeth calling their dad. Poseidon immediately moved to hug Percy, who moved back from his dad without a second's hesitation. Poseidon froze, seeming to be suddenly unsure of himself.

"Percy— "Poseidon started.

"—Don't." Percy cut off. "I'm back because I need a prophecy, but that seems to be impossible without the Oracle able to predict the future. If you want to start making things up to me, start by calling the Olympians and convincing Zeus to allow Apollo back onto the council."

Poseidon looked pained, but finally nodded. "It won't be easy, convincing Zeus to allow Apollo back solely for your needs, but I will find a way."

Percy nodded, and turned to leave the cabin.

"Are you well, Percy?" Poseidon asked to his back. Percy half-turned and looked at his father. "I didn't intend to cut you out of camp. Only to keep you out of the ocean. If I had known…I just need to know that you were ok."

"I lived." Percy said, leaving the cabin.

Percy saw a flash of light come out the windows and knew his father had gone. He looked out around the camp, and finally settled his eyes on the campfire, which had a sole silhouette sitting by it. Percy made his way over and found himself sitting next to a young girl, appearing to be around 13, with strawberry-blonde hair that reached half-way down her back. Her eyes were brown, like a piece of pale firewood, and they reflected the light of the campfire so that Percy felt warm and comforted. He knew it was his Aunt Hestia, but she looked different than the way she used to appear.

"My lady." Percy said, playfully.

She nudged him with her shoulder. "Welcome home, Percy." She said, kindly.

They sat silently for a minute or two, and found themselves watching the sunrise come over the strawberry fields. "Piper is here." Hestia said, simply. Causing Percy to freeze up. He hadn't counted on that; he didn't know how she would react to seeing him again. The last time they had seen each other hadn't gone so well. "You aren't happy about that fact?" Hestia inquired.

"We didn't exactly part on the best terms." Percy answered, vaguely.

Hestia nodded, as though expecting his answer.

"I asked my dad to call the Olympians. There will probably be a meeting in an hour or two." Percy informed her. "I asked him to get Apollo his throne back."

Hestia raised an eyebrow, but ultimately settled into a kind smile. "As happy as I have been to have a throne on the council again, having Apollo off of it was the wrong choice by my brother. It is beyond time for Apollo to be restored."

"Zeus won't make it easy." Percy stated.

"No he won't, but that doesn't make it less true or necessary."

The two of them sat silently for a minute as the sun began to rise further.

"You haven't aged much." Hestia observed. Percy remained silent. She was right, of course. Percy had become immortal about a year after he left camp. It wasn't what he wanted, of course, he had told the Olympian council as much. However, being eternally 18 wasn't too bad a compromise.

Slowly, campers began to move out of their cabins and make their way bleary-eyed towards the dining pavilion. Percy saw Piper move out of her cabin and make her way towards the pavilion alongside all of her siblings, oblivious to his presence. Percy turned to speak to Hestia and saw she had vanished silently. Sighing, he stood and made his way to the Big House.

 **O.o.O.o.O**

Percy waited and waited. Finally, after an hour or so Mr D had come through the Big House from his bedroom upstairs, taken a moment to look at Percy, an eyebrow raised, before he simply said "Peter." And left the Big House. He hadn't changed.

About 5 minutes after Mr D left, Chiron wheeled himself into the lounge of the Big House and froze, seeing Percy standing there.

 **O.o.O.o.O**

 **Chiron POV**

I was sitting at the head table in the pavilion overlooking his charges when Dionysus sat down alongside him. "Peter is here." He said, simply. I frowned, and stood from the table, cantering to the Big House. I quickly collapsed into my magic wheelchair, and wheeled myself into the lounge area, freezing when I saw who was standing before me.

Percy.

His hair was cropped shorter than it had been before he left, and now stood up a bit in small black curls. His eyes were still sea-green, but lacked the warmth that they used to carry so easily. He had a small scar across his left eye which gave his face a graver look than I had seen him wear in his entire time at camp. He wore most of a suit, black pants, with a white tucked-in shirt and a red tie. His jacket was thrown over the couch. A beige trench-coat. I could see he had grown an inch or so, and stood with an apprehension that I hadn't seen in him before.

"Percy." I breathed.

"Hey Chiron," He replied.

Before either of them said anything else they moved towards each other and were giving each other a hug. Both pulling away, I smiled at him. "It is good to see you, my boy. We've been looking a long time."

"I know. I've seen a couple of the search parties. I didn't want to be found." He explained.

"I understand. After what happened it was more than warranted. Most of the issue is that you were unreachable to even the best of us."

"You aren't mad, then?" Percy said, perplexed.

"No, Percy. I'm not mad." I said simply.

It seemed like a weight lifted off Percy's shoulders. He visibly relaxed and sat down on the couch. "Just because I'm not mad, doesn't mean you're in the clear, you know? Your mother will be on the warpath." I informed him.

Percy smiled, eyes twinkling a little bit, which warmed my heart. "She won't be. I've been seeing her regularly for the past couple years."

That shocked me. Poseidon had been having meetings with Sally Jackson at regular intervals in the time that Percy was missing. She had even agreed to let him sift through her memories of Percy and there had been none since their meeting at the end of the Giant War. "How?" I asked.

"I've been spending time with other pantheons, the gods naturally avoid each other, so I met up with her in Brooklyn, where the Egyptians are strongest. Dad naturally left those memories alone, whether he knew it or not." Percy explained.

"When we last spoke, you said you were being careful of other pantheons." I responded sternly.

Percy mulled over the thought. "That was when I had my power. As a mortal, it was less of a risk."

I couldn't argue with that logic. "Have you spent the entire time in Brooklyn?" I asked, curious to know where he had been.

"No, I've been moving around a lot. Interstate, internationally…wherever." The pause towards the end of that statement didn't get past me, but I overlooked it for now.

"Piper is here. She'll want to see you." I said.

"No she won't. We didn't part on good terms." He replied.

I frowned at that. Piper had given no indication that she and Percy were at odds with each other when they left camp 3 years previously. She had seemed quite depressed when she returned to camp after she was found in Japan just after finishing her senior year, but that was put down to her father's passing of an overdose in Los Angeles. But perhaps there was more to that story.

"What brings you back?" I finally asked, and waited patiently as Percy began to explain how he needed a prophecy and so is seeking to return Apollo to Olympus.

 **O.o.O.o.O**

Percy returned to the Poseidon cabin, awaiting the return of his father. Elizabeth was waiting there too, and they sat in an uncomfortable and unhappy silence until Percy finally broke the tension. "I was told you were a Hunter." Percy said.

"I was. I am. I will be. It's complicated." She replied.

"You just gave every explanation possible. It didn't clarify it at all."

She scowled at him. "I don't have to explain myself to you."

Percy shrugged, reached into his jacket pocket and got a cigarette out. He lit it with a flame on his finger, deciding not to waste the magic he had in his lighter just yet.

Elizabeth looked appalled, which Percy took delight in, blowing smoke her way, much to her disgust. Gagging, Elizabeth stormed out of the cabin, just as a horn blew. It was one that Percy was familiar with, it signalled the arrival of the Hunters.

Making his way out after Elizabeth, who was walking up to Thalia's pine tree, Percy leaned against the door of his cabin and finished his cigarette. Looking up at the top of the hill, he saw Artemis. She was looking at him while Elizabeth spoke to her at her side. Even from a distance, he could see Artemis narrow her eyes at him and start to make her way down the hill.

Next, was Thalia, who spotted him and took off running, quickly overtaking Artemis. When she was about 20 feet from him, she stopped, and they stared at each other, until Thalia narrowed her eyes, pulled her bow, and sent an arrow into the door just to the right of his head. Percy didn't flinch, he knew she wouldn't actually try to kill him. Unfortunately, the theatrics she was displaying led to a few campers coming to investigate, including some who recognised Percy, leading them to go and tell other campers what was happening. Percy and Thalia continued to stare at each other, before finally Thalia tackled him in a hug, before pulling away and slapping him, _hard_ , across the face, with an added electric shock, for good measure.

"Mixed signals." Percy said, earning a punch to the shoulder.

"Where _were_ you?" Thalia asked, eyes wet.

Percy enveloped her in a hug again, "I'm so sorry, Thals." He said in response.

The hug was interrupted by the clearing of a throat, the two separated to reveal Artemis, eyes like slits.

"Perseus Jackson." Was all she said.

Percy bowed; not breaking eye-contact. "My lady."

"We've been looking for you. For a long time." She said.

"Would it make you feel better if I said you came closer than I would have liked a couple of times?" Percy tried, in an effort to appease her.

"No." She answered.

"Probably for the best, it wouldn't have been true…" Percy laughed, before catching the glare being sent by the moon goddess.

Percy looked away, only to catch sight of Piper, who had frozen in the crowd and was giving him a death stare that would rival that of a child of Hades. Turning back to the moon goddess, who was seething, Percy tried a friendly smile. The next thing he knew, he was falling to the ground, unconscious.

 **O.o.O.o.O**

Percy awoke in the infirmary. He looked around and saw Thalia sitting next to his bed, along with, surprisingly, Elizabeth. He moaned, getting their attention. "You drool when you sleep." Elizabeth said, causing Percy to flinch.

"Why are _you_ here?" Percy asked.

"Milady's command. She thought because we're brother and sister I should stay."

"Please go."

"Gladly. Now you're awake my duty is done."

Elizabeth wasted no time. She got up and left swiftly. Thalia watched the interaction with interest. "I don't like her." Percy said in explanation.

"Really?" Thalia asked sarcastically. "Are you alright?"

"Not really." Percy touched his head and felt a lump. "Who hit me?"

"Katie Gardner." Thalia said with a grin.

" _Katie_?!"

"She was mad. You disappear on your friends for three years, you're surprised?"

"Not really, just who did it. She was always more non-combative."

The two sat in a comfortably awkward silence for a minute, before Percy decided to break it. "Is Elizabeth a hunter? She wasn't clear."

Thalia had to think a minute before answering. "It's complicated. Yes, and no."

"Same answer she gave, more or less." Percy said.

Thalia shrugged, giving a small "what-can-you-do?" smile. Before her eyes saddened. "Where were you?"

Percy's eyes became downcast. "Sort of all over the place. Never stayed in one spot too long. I was kept busy."

"That isn't what I meant." Thalia said seriously.

Percy met her eyes, which were shedding silent tears. "You know I couldn't stay."

"You didn't have to _leave_."

"My dad— "

"—would have fixed the mistake immediately, had you given him the chance."

"I needed time."

"I needed my _brother_. I lost my brother and sister Perce."

That shut Percy up. Brother wasn't a word that Thalia threw around lightly, aside from with Jason. Jason was a good guy, he and Percy had gotten along well (mostly), and Percy hadn't taken into consideration that Thalia had lost both her younger brother and her sister in Annabeth. She needed him and he had abandoned her. His fatal flaw was loyalty, and he'd abandoned his friend. His cousin. His sister.

"There's nothing I can say that will make this right." He said quietly.

"No, we can't change what's happened." She said before standing over him, and leaning in, kissing his cheek. "I'm glad you're home, Percy." She stood and walked out the door, leaving Percy alone.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Percy was allowed to leave the infirmary not long after Thalia left. It was good that the two of them were on alright terms, they probably wouldn't be back to the way they were ever again, but they were going to be okay. Percy knew there were still people he needed to see. He made his way from the Big House towards the forest, knowing the way to where he wanted to go.

Before long, he found himself in the clearing that held the Council of Cloven Elders. In the middle, with his back to Percy, was Grover. He looked the same, his hair was just as curly, but now had sprinkles of grey in it. His horns now protruded from his hair to be visible, unlike when Percy first met the satyr eight years previously. Percy began to walk around the clearing to get a look at Grover's face. When he was far enough around, he saw that Grover had grown out his beard. The look suited Grover perfectly, it made him an almost exact doppelganger for Pan, whom Grover had dedicated his life to.

"Are you just going to stand there Percy, or are you going to come and say hello?" Grover finally said.

"You knew I was here?" Percy replied, walking over and helping Grover up.

"The empathy link never shut off. It wasn't part of your Dad's magic, it was mine. Plus, you had the Breath of the Wild from Pan." Grover explained.

Percy smiled. He actually, properly smiled and pulled Grover into a tight hug. "It's good to see you, G-Man."

When they released each other, they both laughed a little, then wiped away at the dirt in their eyes. Only to laugh again when they realised they were copying each other's movements.

"You aren't mad then? About me going away?" Percy asked, suddenly unsure of himself.

"No Perce. I could feel what state you were in. Do I wish you had sent a post-card or two, yeah of course I do, but I understood how you were feeling and that was enough for me."

Grover threw his arm around Percy's shoulder and led them into the woods. Bringing him up to speed on his life over the past couple years. Grover explained how there was a bushfire in the woods, some explosion in Bunker 9. How Juniper had been alright, but quite singed, and had taken a long time to recover. How the nature spirits had been at war with the Hephaestus kids ever since, and how that meant no one wanted Cabin 9 on their capture-the-flag team since it meant fighting nature itself. How he and Juniper had two children, a baby girl satyr named Lily, and a boy nymph named En.

"En?" Percy asked, perplexed.

"Short for Enchilada." Grover explained.

"You're kidding?" Percy asked.

"Juniper's idea. I was all for it."

"No way. You're pulling my leg."

"Wait and see!" They walked into a clearing, and there was Juniper. Her hair was shorter, but when Percy looked at her tree, there were very few leaves on one side. Luckily for Juniper, the short hair, which she had styled into a pixie cut was a perfect look for her.

Percy spent the day with Grover and Juniper, and the two children, the nymph-ling indeed being named Enchilada, which led to laughter from all three of the grownups. Juniper explained it was so that Grover's love of Enchiladas made sense to her.

When Percy made his way back into the camp proper, on the outskirts of the woods, he found himself stopped by the figure waiting for him. Piper.

"You were in there a while." She said, coldly.

"Where I go isn't any of your business anymore." Percy said, all traces of good humour gone. He shoved his way past her and continued into the camp. He made his way to the dining pavilion and sat at the Poseidon table. A moment or two later, Elizabeth sat across from him.

"Shouldn't you sit with the hunters?" Percy asked, watching the flicker of annoyance cross his sister's face.

"If Artemis were here, I might have. But it's complicated." She answered.

"Artemis isn't here?"

"Olympian council meeting. Guess whose fault that is."

"You know what— "Percy started, only to have a flash of light in the middle of the dining pavilion interrupt him.

Everyone looked at the god's arrival, and were shocked to see Apollo, still looking like he had in Delphi. A number of campers got up and knelt to him, but he waved them off. He looked around, spotted Percy, nodded, and walked off into the woods. Quite a number of campers looked confused by his actions, and Percy saw Will Solace get up and go after his father. Percy frowned, and followed, the fight with his sister could wait.

Percy followed the glowing light that was Apollo until he was deeper into the forest than he'd ever been. He was cutting through bushes upon bushes with his sword (not Riptide, the blade had stopped materialising when he removed the cap of the pen not long after he left camp) until finally he found himself alongside the god and Will in a grove.

"Dodona." Apollo said, his face taking a grave look while Will gasped.

"Sorry, what's Dodona?" Percy asked.

"This is the Grove of Dodona, the first Oracle. It's sacred to Rhea." Will explained.

Apollo moved towards the largest tree in the grove, and conjured wind chimes. He hooked them on a branch and all wind in the grove stopped. Before a gentle breeze picked up, seemingly carrying words.

 _The start of the divide_

 _Is where the secret lies_

 _When restored from the fire_

 _The sea's son shall be lighter_

 _Friends united again lead the way_

 _For all the gods to join the fray_

 _Power earned not gained_

 _Is the only chance to save the child of Aenir_

The three of them stood in stunned silence. Apollo turned to Percy gravely. "You wanted a prophecy."

"It wasn't very clear." Percy replied.

"They never are. So I'll give you a hint. The two companions you'll need are your sister and Piper."

"No way. They hate me."

"You still need them. It's the only way." Apollo said firmly. "I may have lost the Sight to see prophecies, but I still understand them once I know them. You need them, Percy."

"How long do I have to "save the grain"?" Percy asked.

"Until the world is cold." Apollo replied. "I must return to Delphi; my strength is fading quickly. Camp is that way. "Apollo pointed a direction and flashed away while Percy and Will followed his finger.

 **O.o.O.o.O**

Percy and Will walked back into the dining pavilion, to a curious crowd. Percy walked over to Malcolm, who looked up at him sheepishly, only to look relieved when Percy asked for a pen and paper. Percy quickly wrote down the prophecy.

Percy walked up to Chiron and muttered a quick explanation about a quest from Apollo, calling a camp councillors meeting. Chiron called for all the councillors to meet at the Big House as soon as possible.

Percy met them there, when he arrived, nearly all the councillors had arrived, with the exception of Cabin 9's Clara and Travis Stoll.

It wasn't long before the two of them arrived together, Travis pulling twigs and leaves out of Clara's hair. She explained that she had gotten too close to the tree line.

When they were all seated around the ping-pong table, Percy called them all to order. He quickly summed up how he and Will had followed Apollo, and then allowed Will to explain about the Grove of Dodona, which received a gasp from Chiron. Percy then took back over and read out the prophecy he had received.

"Very well then, Percy. You were the one to receive the prophecy, who will be your companions?" Chiron asked, gravely.

"Piper and Elizabeth." Percy said, knowing what was to come.

Piper simply stood up and walked out of the Big House. A lot of people frowned and looked at Percy, who just nodded in a "that's about right" manner. Percy also explained how Apollo said that they had until the world "goes cold".

"What does that mean?" Clara asked, looking to Malcolm.

"It could mean any number of things; it could mean there is no time limit on the quest?"

"Not usually how it works." Percy said, to a murmur of agreement.

"It could also be literal. That would be bad." Malcolm continued, receiving a laugh from around the table at how simply he put that. Percy didn't laugh, he thought of what Apollo had said to him at Delphi, how he nearly faded, and how the laws of nature meant he could likely fight Poseidon to a standstill. If Apollo faded, the world would certainly go cold. The others were joking around, but Percy knew it was a real threat.

"I should go as soon as possible; we shouldn't delay just because we think we have time." Percy said.

"Good idea, Percy." Chiron said. "But you still need to convince Piper and Elizabeth to go with you.

Percy groaned but got up. The council was dismissed and Percy went to find Elizabeth first.

It didn't take long to find Elizabeth, she was at the Archery Range with the hunters, practicing. She wasn't very good with a bow, but she was better than Percy, though not by much. Percy couldn't help himself, so he said what would do the least to help persuade her. "Shouldn't Hunters be good with bows?" Percy watched her face go crimson.

"Why are you such a jerk?!" She exclaimed, storming off. The Hunters broke into fits of laughter at Elizabeth's expense as she left the arena, leading to her breaking into a sprint. Percy looked over at Thalia, who wasn't laughing, and winced sheepishly. He pointed at the sky questioningly, only to receive a shake of her head. The Olympians were still in session. Percy took off after Elizabeth. He spotted her entering their cabin, and found himself moving over to it. He paused out the front, deciding it would be better to give her a few minutes alone. He moved around the U-shape of cabins to Aphrodite's cabin. He knocked, and Piper opened the door, only to close it again.

"Piper!" He said, banging on the door.

"Go away!" Came the sing-song voice of Piper, full of charmspeak.

Percy turned and walked a few paces before he realised what had happened. He turned and tried the door handle, it was unlocked. He opened the door and stood in the doorway. Piper sat on a bed and looked up at him over a magazine.

"I'm not going. I'm done with quests." She said.

"I don't want to ask you to. But Apollo said I had to, and I'm not going to deny a god on something so important."

"I'm still not going. Take Drew, she can charmspeak too, I'm sure she'll come in handy." Piper said as she turned the page of her magazine.

"I could try that, I'm sure she'd be better company. But Apollo said I needed you, and fate has a tendency to find a way to make people do what it wants."

Piper's nostrils flared as she put down her magazine. She stood up and pursed her lips, looking at Percy. "I heard that prophecy." She said.

"I know. I read it to you." Percy replied.

"No you idiot, I heard the lines. It wants us to go back there, to where this…divide began."

"It wants us to save Walt. If you were listening, you'd know that too." Percy said, turning to lean his back against the doorframe.

"So we fix this— "she gestured between them, "—by fixing our mistake?"

"That's the idea." Percy said.

"Or what?"

"I think…if we fail, Apollo fades, the sun goes out slowly, and the world dies."

"That's bad."

The two of them gave each other a small smile. "We'll have to follow my path. How it came to be this way." Percy said.

Piper nodded, and grabbed a rucksack from under her bed. Nodding to Percy in goodbye, he closed the door.

He made his way back to Cabin 2, where he opened the door slightly, so he could see Elizabeth, who was crying into the shoulder of a slightly older Artemis. Sighing, he opened the door, and received a harsh glare from the goddess. He moved forward and knelt in front of Elizabeth.

"I'm so sorry, Liz." Percy said, quietly. The girl froze, and Artemis examined the interaction curiously. "I'm sorry that I've been such an asshole since I got here. You're my sister, we should be on the same team."

Elizabeth looked at him through puffy eyes. "Don't call me Liz."

"That, I can't promise, but I can promise to try to be a better brother. And I promise to have your back, always. I swear it on the River Styx." Both Artemis and Elizabeth's eyes widened at the solemn oath. "I'm glad you're here Artemis, I need your help. Both of you."

Artemis narrowed her eyes at Percy. "What is it that you're asking?"

"I assume you know of your brother's condition? His weakness on this plane?"

Artemis nodded cautiously.

"I've been issued a quest. Apollo explicitly told me I would need Piper and Elizabeth. But I think I'm going to need you as well. He said our time limit is until the world goes cold, I think that means if he fades we fail. But if we succeed, he will be restored to the Olympian council and healed."

Artemis's eyes widened, and she shifted herself apart from Elizabeth's embrace. "Do you have the prophecy?"

Percy nodded and passed her the paper. He went over to his bunk, and lifted the mattress near the pillow. As he expected, a notepad was there, the cover page adorned with images of owls. He flipped it open to one of the grey paper pages, and quickly jotted down some coordinates. He ripped out the page and turned back to Artemis. They traded pieces of paper.

"Meet us there, don't go inside until I arrive. If you do, bad things are certain to happen. It's cursed.

Artemis nodded, and got up to leave. Before she did however, she leaned in close to Percy's ear and whispered. "If you make her cry again, I will end your life." Percy paled and nodded. Artemis left the cabin.

Percy turned back to Elizabeth. "Will you help me?"

Elizabeth nodded and pulled out a backpack beginning her packing at once. Percy turned and did the same.


End file.
